CollectingSnapOn.com

I have what I believe is a KRA-300B that I'm working on restoring. When I got the box, it was mostly complete, although a couple of the drawer slides are damaged and will need straightening or replacement. It has:
* aluminum roll-up door
* script Snap-On logo without the rectangular background
* chrome drawer handle accent trim
* round chrome side handle (as opposed to red-painted square tube handle)

I haven't been able to find a date code stamping, although it was repainted at some point so a light stamping may just be hidden. Based on the features listed above, I'm placing this box somewhere between 1962 and 1969. Does that sound right? Should I expect to find a date stamp on a box of this age?

Also, does anyone know whether the friction slides for this box can be replaced by any that Snap-On sells today?

--Colin

Your range for date of manufacture is probably good. Put a coat of something shiny on the bottom half of the rear panel (lemon pledge?) and put a bright light at a glaring angle, you may find the stamp. Many times, the friction slide can be repaired, the slide track welded to the box needs to be straight and true first. No idea what the modern Snap On can provide. Post a picture of the damaged slides.

I found the stamp in the back panel -- it was about six inches from the top, centered horizontally. Initially, I was only able to make out the last couple digits of the serial number (which had a stronger stamping), but it was all clearly legible after I sanded off the two layers of paint and what looked like two layers of primer below that. The date code showed 1963.

There are several slides with some damage. The attached photo shows two of the worst ones. Fortunately, I haven't found any damage on the welded rails on the drawers or inside the box.

Last week, I called Snap-On customer service. Given the original part numbers for the slides, the woman on the phone was able to find the numbers for the superseding parts. I ordered one of each size just to make sure that they were indeed the correctly sized replacements. Got them today and it looks like they'll be a perfect fit. All the major dimensions match.

There is a slight difference in that the replacement slides have moved the spring steel catch in by about a 1/2" relative to the original design. This should simply limit the total drawer extension slightly, and I don't expect it to create a problem.

For reference:

Original number: 8-2147
Height: 13/16"
Length: 15"
Superseding number: 8-1957

Original number: 8-753
Height: 1 11/16"
Length: 15"
Superseding number: 8-767